Prehistoric and Ancient History

Resources in this category:

About.com: Ancient/Classical History
http://ancienthistory.about.com/

A comprehensive guide to Ancient and Classical History, covering Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, beliefs and mythology, politics, science, warfare, arts and literature, including an overview of studying the ancient world and archaeology.

About.com: Ancient/Classical History
http://ancienthistory.about.com/

An Internet guide to ancient and classical history, with feature articles, Website links, and discussion forums. Covers ancient history in Asia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Near East. Topics covered include daily life, economics, religion, language, law, weapons & war, medicine, philosophy, science, and archaeology.

Akhet Egyptology
http://www.akhet.co.uk/

Information about ancient Egypt including mythology, mummification, kings (with biographies), and art. Also includes an annotated guide to Egyptology sites and interactive "Clickable Mummy" and "Clickable Coffin" exhibits.

Alcove 9: Classical and Medieval History
http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/alcove9/classics.html

The Library of Congress's annotated list of reference websites for classical and medieval history.

The Ancient Olympics
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/index.html

This site uses information from the Perseus Project, a digital library on ancient Greece to exhibit information about the ancient Olympics. It includes comparisons between ancient and modern sports, ancient artwork with themes relevant to the games, and information about Olympic athletes who were famous in ancient times.

Arild Hauge's Runes and Viking Page
http://www.arild-hauge.com/eindex.htm

Brief introductions to Norse/Germanic runes and the people who used them.

Balkh (Bactria)
http://ancienthistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/...

A history of Paktra/Bactria from its earliest historical mention until its conquest by the Kushans. English is obviously not the writer's first language, but his style is very readable.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization
http://www.civilization.ca/

"The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC), a Crown Corporation, was established in 1990 by the Canadian Museums Act. The CMCC comprises two national museums: the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) and its affiliate, the Canadian War Museum (CWM). Today, the CMC and the CWM care for upwards of 4 million artifacts. The Museum of New France, dedicated to furthering the knowledge of the history of New France, takes the form of a virtual museum." This site provides a way to tap into the historical and archeological resources of the Museums of the Corporation. Includes an extensive collection and a virtual tour.

Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fall?
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/

"Join us as we explore the collapse of four ancient civilizations. You'll learn what happens when a society collapses and how archaeologists find and interpret evidence." With this evidence and information you can find out what it means for modern civilizations and what can be learned from the past. The four civilizations explored are the Mayans, Mesopotamians, the Anasazi , and the Mali and Songhai civilizations of Aftrica. Also, the means for further research is provided for both online and print resources with an extensive related resources link.

Digital Egypt for Universities
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/Welcome.html

A learning and teaching resource for higher education aimed to assist teaching across all disciplines. Contains 3000 pages created by Wolfram Grajetzki; 300 pages by Stephen Quirke and invited contributors; 3d reconstructions of 14 archaeological sites by Narushige Shiode.

EMuseum: Archaeology and Prehistory
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/emuseum1.html

An interactive, museum-like exhibit dealing with the ancient world, world cultures, and various aspects of anthropology and archaelogy. Includes: a World population clock; Minnesota history; ancient civilizations of Asia, Europe, and the Americas; evolution; religion; underwater archaeology; and much more.

Exploring Ancient World Cultures
http://eawc.evansville.edu/

Online course supplement for students and teachers of the ancient and medieval worlds, featuring its own essays and primary texts. Covers eight areas of interest: "The Near East, India, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, Early Islam and Medieval Europe". Associate site of the Argos Project (http://argos.evansville.edu/about.htm).

Herodotus on the Web
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/herodotus/

Annotated web directory to information on the Greek historian Herodotus. Includes guides to essays, texts and translations, images etc.

Images of Women in Ancient Art
http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/

Art history website that presents a study of representations of women in ancient art. Discusses images of women in prehistory, Egypt, the Aegean, Palestine, Greece and 'Barbarian Women."

The Influence of Roman Engineering and Architecture
http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch304/winter2001/cs...

An article on the effect Roman engineering (particularly of roads and water) had on its conquests and neighbors.

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html

"A 'classroom usable' sourcebook of copy-permitted material for Ancient history and civilization courses. The emphasis remains on access to primary source texts for educational purposes. The site focuses online texts." This site covers a wide range of ancient civilizations beginning with the origins of man and including Ancient Greece, the Near East, the Roman Empire, and the origns of Christianity.

Livius: Articles On Ancient History
http://www.livius.org/

A collection of articles on classical and other ancient history. Also includes photographs and articles on recent Dutch history.

The Long Foreground: Human Prehistory
http://www.wsu.edu/gened/learn-modules/top_longfor/lfopen-in...

This site contains an overview of human prehistory, a hominid species timeline, and human physical characteristics. This is the website of a World Civilizations class from Washington State University.

Mystery of the Maya
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/maya/mminteng.html

"Deep within the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala and extending into the limestone shelf of the Yucatán peninsula lie the fabled temples and palaces of the Maya. While Europe still slumbered in the midst of the Dark Ages, these innovative people had charted the heavens, evolved the only true writing system native to the Americas and were masters of mathematics and calendrics. Without advantage of metal tools, beasts of burden or even the wheel they were able to construct vast cities with an astonishing degree of architectural perfection and variety. Their legacy in stone, which has survived in a spectacular fashion at places such as Palenque, Tikal, Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Copán and Uxmal, lives on as do the seven million descendants of the classic Maya civilization."

The Origins and Ancient History of Wine
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/online_exhibits/win...

The history of wine and its effects on the cultures that used it.

The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2002/egypt/index.htm#about

This online exhibit includes a virtual tour inside a full-scale tomb, the exhibition film, and multimedia slideshows of specific objects. To use these multimedia resources, you must have QuickTime or RealPlayer installed on your computer.

Roman Numismatic Gallery
http://www.romancoins.info/

This website is about ancient coins. It has a wide selection of pictures of Roman Coins, Greek Coins, Celtic Coins, Byzantine Coins, etc. The scans that are available are very clear and detailed, and can help the user learn about the different era’s of coins, especially Roman Coins which is the specialty of the website.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/

A compact list of the seven wonders of the ancient world with images and historical background information.

Theoi Project Guide to Gods, Spirits and Monsters of Greek Mythology
http://www.theoi.com/

The THEOI Project web site is a comprehensive collection of encyclopedia articles, maps, galleries, and guides for learning about Greek mythology. In particular, this site focuses on ancient Greek gods, spirits, and monsters.

Worlds Intertwined: The Etruscan World
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/worlds_intertwined/etruscan/...

Virtual gallery from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The Etruscans were a great pre-Roman civilization in Italy, and the museum has a very fine collection of Etruscan artifacts.